


I Stumble and I Fall (Carry Me Through)

by Chronicles_of_Scout



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Sister-Sister Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-12 23:08:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11747121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chronicles_of_Scout/pseuds/Chronicles_of_Scout
Summary: Her running theory was that a Supergirl fanboy had got it in his head that he could be her sidekick or lover or both.  Only, to accomplish that, he and his cult had found a fucking magical ritual thing that gave him the powers of a god.  He’d had to make 6 “sacrifices of power” to attain this level of god-hood and tonight had been the second to the last in the finale.  And then Kara had shown up.orA resolution to the tensions I thought the writers royally screwed up.  Post 2x19.





	I Stumble and I Fall (Carry Me Through)

**Author's Note:**

> Some of this is canon, some is head canon, and some is comic lore. None of it belongs to me.... except maybe William Dreyer.... Enjoy  
> One-Shot

The sound of her fist slamming into Rick’s face echoed throughout the meeting area, as various whistles and sympathetic hisses followed. For a second Kara was concerned that Alex had broken her hand on the assholes face, but that worry was eliminated with a quick glance of her x-ray vision.

Next to Alex, Maggie chuckled, sliding a hand over her sister’s shoulder. No. Not her sister. Maggie’s girlfriend. Alex was first and foremost, Maggie’s girlfriend now. They’d both made that clear. And the sooner Kara got that through her head, the easier it would be on all of them.

She took a second more to soak in Alex’s presence; beyond grateful for the blood rushing to the new contusion on her fist, the oxygen filling over exerted lungs, and the muscles that could still stretch her mouth into a smile. Alex was alive. That’s all that mattered.

Squaring her shoulders, she turned back towards Mon-El, intent on calling it a night and going home for some very necessary cuddles. Unfortunately, before she could open her mouth to tell him this, she felt a hand on her shoulder. 

She nodded along to Maggie’s words, forcing out reassurances and finally, a hug. It’s what they expected of her; what Kara Danvers would do. So, she played along and made her escape at the next possible opportunity. 

But Rao, how she’d wanted to stay.

The blonde had wanted to go back to the DEO’s medical quarters with Alex and curl up next to her sister. Had wanted to press her ear against her sister’s chest, and listen to the beat she had memorized years ago. Feel the embrace that had somehow always managed to fight back the pain. It had taken everything in her to not rush into Alex’s arms the second she emerged from the med wing; to hold her and promise her that she was safe. But that wasn’t her place anymore. Alex had told her that wasn’t her place. And today, Maggie had pretty much solidified that idea. She just needed some more time to get used to her new role. To be OK again.

Tonight... Tonight, she was too exhausted to play pretend.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

She was perfect.

Last week she had saved the world from the alien horde that had promised to enslave humanity. Hundreds of human lives had been lost in the resulting attacks. Civilian lives. Women and children, lying dead or dying in the street. Rescue workers trying fruitlessly to rush the wounded to overcrowded hospitals. The Daxamite fleet had been relentless in their assault. The army had been no match for their superior technology and weaponry. In the end, it had come down to Supergirl and her team to stop the invasion.

She had been magnificent.

She had not only ended the invasion, but had forced the alien scum to feel the same pain that he had felt when they had murdered his sister and nephew in cold blood. 

He can clearly remember the feel of his little sister’s hand in his own as he had pulled her along behind him, ducking behind cars to avoid the explosions and Daxamite soldiers. She had held Jonah, his 4-year-old nephew, tight to her chest as she kept pace with him. Determination and fear etched across her features, as she fought to keep her son alive.

When they had shot through the child’s heart into her own, she had only had breath enough to call out to him. He had thought she was asking for a respite. For a break in their running, but when he had turned he had seen the two of them sharing a death in one blast. He had been unable to do anything but watch.

He had watched his world end.

And he had watched as the Daxamites had writhed in agony from the justice that Supergirl had unleashed upon them.

She was his new world and he would not fail her like he had failed his family.

He would become worthy.

He would worship at her alter, and destroy anyone who got in his way.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alex hadn’t seen her sister in almost 2 weeks. At least not for any amount of time that mattered. They would bump into each other at the DEO and, some mornings there’d be a bag of breakfast waiting for her on her kitchen counter denoting Kara’s presence. Their engagements were normally less than 10 minutes nowadays.

And at first Alex had been able to chalk it up to Supergirl drama. Word had gotten out that Supergirl had almost staged a prison break before being talked down by Detective Sawyer. A lie. A lie that Kara had gone along with to protect Maggie’s job and reputation. Not that Kara had admitted to any wrong doing, she had just ignored any questions surrounding said wrong doing. The stupid self-sacrificing masochist that she was.

And, while Maggie had wanted to set the record straight, had been about to do just that, it had been J’onn who had told her it would be a pointless exercise. That it was much more radical for Supergirl to do something this foolhardy than a love-struck police officer. He’d been of the mind that even if she did reveal what had really happened that night, no one would be interested in the truth anyway. Supergirl sold papers. Not Maggie Sawyer. Her girlfriend had been pissed at that; not liking the idea of Kara taking the fall for something she had done. In the end, she only acquiesced because J’onn pointed out why Kara had done what she had done. Or at least one of the reasons, because Alex knew Kara usually had multiple reasons behind her actions. If Maggie did go public with what happened that night her superiors would open an investigation, and they might find out that Alex had been abducted and held hostage. And, if that happened, the agent’s connection to Supergirl would be blown and her already impressive target would go global. Kara had both saved them and backed them into a corner.

Maggie had let it go and Kara had been kept busy putting out wildfires, as criminals both human and alien decided to test the heroine’s moral code left and right.

So, at first Alex hadn’t been too concerned. She’d been worried for sure, especially after Kara had cancelled “Sister Night”, but she’d pushed it aside. But then another week had gone by and Alex had gotten offended. She’d almost died, that had to call for some sort of sisterly affection, right?

Now it was week 3.

It was week 3 and the world had almost ended.

It was week 3 and Mon-El was gone.

 It was week 3 and Alex was officially scared.

Which is probably why Winn was able to land a pretty nasty blow to the right side of her face. It even made her ears ring.

Impressive.

“HOLY SHIT! Alex, I am so sorry! Shit!” The tech genius actually flapped his hands, as he glanced frantically around the room and tried to decide if touching her would get him killed. “I thought you were going to block that I swear! You always block! You block everything! Shitty SHIT shit! Kara is going to _kill_ me. Dammit _Maggie_ is going to kill me. Kara _and_ Maggie are going to take _turns_ killing me.” 

Having heard quite enough, especially as he was starting to make her head spin with the flapping, Alex grabbed Winn by the shoulders to steady him. He very predictably flinched. “Winn stop, you’re giving me a headache.”

Eyes wide and face becoming a startling shade of green he managed to gasp out, “Are you going to kill me?”

 The brunette shook her head, “I’m sorry. I got distracted. But you did really well, that was your first hit! That’s a good thing. It’s never gonna happen again, but yeah, you should be celebrating right now.”

And maybe he would have been able to relax, if Maggie hadn’t chosen that moment to enter the training area. Her eyes narrowed on the red patch of skin on her girlfriend’s face, before flitting disbelievingly over to Winn. He ran.

Alex chuckled and went over to the bench to grab her water bottle, Maggie moving to meet her there. She sighed as she felt strong, sure hands wrap around her shoulders and gently knead the muscles in her back.

“Hey.” The word was punctuated by a soft kiss to her shoulder. “You ready to call it a day?”

She sighed and pulled away from the embrace, turning so that they were face to face. “Not yet, I was actually hoping to wait out Kara. I was hoping to catch her when she checked in.”

Maggie’s lips pulled down into a frown, “She hasn’t done that yet?” When she received a negative head shake and a short explanation of Alex’s fears, she blew out an exasperated breath and scratched at the back of her neck. “So since your kidnapping basically?” the detective prompted.

Alex nodded, her head tilting to the side as she considered. “Actually yeah. Although I don’t understand how that would drive her away. I’ve been in tough spots before this and it made her clingy, not distant!”

Maggie shook her head in exasperation, her hands coming up to fold across her chest. “Well, no offence Alex, but this wasn’t just a ‘tough spot’. You almost died. When I saw you in that tank, I thought you were dead. I can’t even imagine how Kara must have felt. Maybe she’s just scared. And you know, trying to cope with losing her boyfriend and essentially almost committing genocide.”

The anger that flared up in Alex was swift, “That was not her fault! She had an impossible decision to make and- “

“Hey! I know,” Maggie raised her hands defensively. Before stepping closer and resting them on Alex’s tense shoulders. “I know. I’m not judging. She made the right call. But that doesn’t make it any easier. Especially for someone who swore to never take a life,” she finished sympathetically.

Alex’s jaw clenched harshly, her hands going to her hips as she turned away from her girlfriend and shook her head. 

The detective inched closer to the irate woman, palms out and open in front of her before she finally reached out and let her hands fall on her shoulders. She turned Alex to face her and ducked her head to try to reach her eyes. “You can’t protect her from everything Alex,” raises one hand to stroke over Alex’s hair. “You can’t protect her from this.”

Alex’s eyes are glassy when she finally looks up and she has just opened her mouth to respond when her phone rings. She blows out and shaky breath and is coming a hand through her hair as she raises the phone to her ear.

“Danvers.”

The rest of the conversation happens on the other end of the line, but Alex’s face grows more and more irate as the other person speaks. Finally, she confirms that she’ll assemble a team and move towards the attack point. Apparently non-human conflicts don’t stop for personal drama.

Go figure.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Maggie’s eyes perused the crime scene as she circled the smoking husk that used to be a person. The body definitely had not been human. It had been a Nicordian from the looks of it, which made absolutely no sense since the species were known to be pacifists. Like the “giants” of the alien race. Big, strong, and dumb.

This particular one, barely reached 7 feet, and since they tended to top out at about 9 ft., that meant this was a kid. Possibly a teenager. Someone had killed a fucking kid.

“No one saw anything.” She turns as Alex walks over to her, frustration apparent on the Agents face as the rest of her team wrapped on collecting evidence. “As usual.” Was muttered under her breath.

Maggie smiled indulgently but pointed at the body’s left wrist.

“See there? That symbol? I had two bodies pop up last week with those markings. We thought it was a double suicide, scene was clean. But now…”

Alex’s frown deepened. “Now you think someone’s going around killing aliens.” Her girlfriend finished for her.”

Maggie shrugged and turned her eyes back to the dead teenager.

“One night, 2 bodies could be an accident, a onetime thing. 3 bodies, tends to be a trend. We might have a serial killer on our hands.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 “You don’t have to do this.”

The words were expected but still he couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he watched her slowly descend to land in front of him.

“I can’t believe that you’re actually here.” He wiped his right forearm across his face to remove the blood that had splattered on him. “I mean, I knew you’d come. You always come. But to see you in person is just…. I mean wow. It’s an honor. A real pleasure ma’am.” The alien behind him continued to struggle against his binds, harsh screams muffled by the blood choking him. Of course, his incoherence might also have to do with that fact that he had relieved the beast of his tongue. Semantics. “If you would be so kind as to just wait right there, I will be right with you.” He was positively beaming as he turned to make the final cut. Finally, he would be worthy.

Except his blade never reached his victim. Supergirl stood in his way, her hand wrapped in a vice grip around his arm and her eyes conveying her rage at his behavior. He tutted, and shrugged her off before pushing her bodily out of his way. He didn’t blame her, she didn’t understand what he was trying to do. He made the final slice and reveled in the distorted screams of the alien. That was it, there was only one left and then he would be a warrior in his own right.

He turned, victorious and happy, to face his goddess- and was struck by the horrified look on Supergirl’s face. He shook his head and held up his hands to show he meant her no harm, but she wasn’t even paying attention to him. She was too focused on the now burned out husk that was once an alien life form.

It’s not even like he was a good alien, this particular brand of evil was involved in exporting humans to slaver colonies. He had deserved this and more.

He said as much to Supergirl but the horror did not leave her face. 

“We could have found another way. We could have arrested him. WE COULD HAVE DONE ANYTHING BUT THIS!!!” Her hand cut harshly across her body to point at the steaming corpse, her face stricken.

Confusion littered his features and he took a step towards her, she took one away from him. “I don’t understand. I thought you’d be proud of me; I was trying to help. You told us to stand up for ourselves- to fight back!”

Supergirl’s face crumbled in agony, “not like this.” 

“You don’t have to be alone anymore,” he said as he shook his head. “I’m here now. You are a goddess who deserves to be worshipped. I will make them bow before you. They will know your power, and we will sow the worthy.” His hands raised imploringly as he beckoned her closer.

Her jaw tightened and her fists clenched at her sides as she strode towards him. “You’re a monster and you are going to jail.”

As soon as her hands made contact with his forearm, a pulse erupted from his outstretched hands hitting the caped hero directly in her chest. The blast knocked her back several feet and she raised her head in shock to meet her enraged opponent.

“I did this for you!” Another pulse erupted from his hands and she had to super speed out of the way to avoid the hit. “I was going to remake the world: for you!!!”

Another pulse, another dodge.

Her lips pulled back into a sneer, “I never asked you to!” She relaxed her body as she realized she was no longer fighting just a normal human. That whatever ritual she had interrupted had somehow altered his physiology. Gathering herself, she focused enough strength into her fist to knock out an elephant before super speeding over to the anomaly. Exhaustion pulled at her, and she recalled Alex’s stern reminder to sleep and eat. She also recalled that she had ignored both, that she had been too busy trying not to think of the mockery her life had become; not thinking about lying to Lena, killing the Daxamites, losing Mon-el, losing Alex, and the simmering rage she felt for Maggie and herself.

But now…

Now, maybe she should think about all of those things. She could use the rage. She let out a fierce yell as she closed in on her enemy, fist extended and ready for contact.

She almost broke her arm.

The man in front of her, smiled at her shocked face as he held her fist in his palm, before jerking her body towards his and slamming his forehead into her nose.

Blood spurted against his face and he laughed as she struggled against him, dazed hand slapping futilely against her still captured fist.

She had betrayed him and she would pay. There was a time when he was the weak one, but not anymore. He had been granted powers to protect his goddess. Now that she had betrayed him, he would use them to destroy her.

He squeezed.

Her screams were beautiful.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alex’s heart stopped when she finally pulled up to the scene. 

All around her people were screaming orders, gunshots coming from all angles of the room.

She saw Maggie crouched behind a shelf, emptying her clip into the unknown assailant. Her face a picture of concentration and worry.

That’s not what drew her attention.

Supergirl was screaming. 

The supposedly indestructible alien was slumped over in agony, tears streaming down her cheeks as blood streaked down her face and arm. 

Supergirl was bleeding.

Kara was bleeding. Her sister. 

Her baby sister was screaming.

She called on all of her years of training as she forced the panic down and tried to assess the situation.

Kara and the man were in the far right corner of the abandoned office building. A seemingly dead Alien was strung up behind them. 

The man had Kara’s left hand crushed in his right palm, and the expression on his face could only be described as ecstasy. Kara’s right hand was curled into a fist as she landed body shot after body shot on her captor, all of which appeared to do absolutely nothing. And she was slowing down.

Alex reached for her blaster, before thinking better of it and pulling the ray gun from behind her back. It was a big hulk of a thing and she often debated on whether or not she should even bring it along. Topping off at about 30 pounds, really added unnecessary weight to her gear. She felt grateful for it now; she had learned a long time ago not to shoot a big caliber alien with a small caliber bullet. Moreover, if this alien/man/thing could hold his own against Kara, she would need the best damn gun in their inventory. 

She heard Hank in her ear, ordering the other Agents into a surrounding “u” formation. She broke from their ranks, informing Hank that she was going in for a closer shot.

Tall Dark and Ugly leaned into Kara and said something Alex couldn’t hear before slamming his fist into her sister’s face. Again, and again.

Everything slowed down as Alex pulled the gun over her shoulder, pressing the charge button, watching in horror as the man pulled a ceremonial looking knife from behind his back. Maggie launched herself to her feet and ran at the attacker yelling, trying to distract him, her fellow officers unloading cover fire. The rail gun beeped in Alex’s ear and she pulled the trigger. She watched the man fall back, his hands empty. She fired again, this shot hitting him square in the chest. He scowled down at his smoking torso, before looking around at the small army closing in on him. He smirked at them before launching himself into the air.

Alex watched him until she was certain he wasn’t coming back. Then she turned back towards Kara. She didn’t even remember moving, just that she was suddenly kneeling in a small puddle of blood, her hands frantically pushing hair out of Kara’s blood-soaked face.

Her sister flinched away from her, crying out in pain at the movement as sobs continued to rack her body, cradling her left hand protectively to her. Kara’s face was almost unrecognizable, and Alex knew if she had been human she would have been dead. Fear gripped her chest, despite the fact that she could already see the telltale signs of healing washing over her sister’s skin. Kara’s crying hadn’t stopped and once Alex’s heart had stopped pounding in her ears, she finally heard her own name in the sobs. She swallowed back the bile that threatened to overwhelm her, and chanced a glance away to collect herself, finally noticing her girlfriend’s presence. Maggie was kneeling next to her; her police jacket was off and bundled against Kara’s lower chest.

“I’m here. It’s okay.” Alex’s voice shook as she slowly reached out again and lay trembling fingers against Kara’s face. “It’s okay Kara. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.” She leaned down and pressed a kiss to Kara’s face, her lips trembling against bloodied skin. She stayed close as one hand found its way into her sister’s hair, the other moving to her neck to check her pulse. “We’re gonna get you to the DEO and get you taken care of okay? You’re gonna be fine.” She started a steady stroking pattern at the nape of her neck in an attempt to calm her. “I love you Kara. You’re gonna be ok, alright? I’m not leaving. I won’t leave you alone. I’ve got you.”

“Danvers.”

The tone of Maggie’s voice made Alex hesitate to look up because Kara was still crying, and that tone meant that there was still bad news. And Alex didn’t want any more bad news. Still she brought her head up and made eye contact with her detective, who didn’t say anything but simply dropped her eyes down to her hands, carefully pulling her jacket away to reveal a knife handle protruding from Kara’s body.

Alex sucked in a breath, and held it. Because this should have been impossible. There was no way this was happening.

Because Kara’s skin wasn’t discolored; there was no green. That wasn’t kryptonite.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The DEO was a hub of activity as Alex ran through the doors alongside the gurney carrying Kara. The swelling around her face had already started to go down, but the knife wound showed no signs of healing. Alex had checked repeatedly on the ride over. She had also taken the time to check for any other injuries, and when she had seen the state of Kara’s hand she’d had to fight the urge to vomit. And although that was also healing, Alex still felt the urge to hit something. The hand, if you could have called it that, was a mottled array of flesh, blood, and pulp. The bones had literally been crushed so that the limb didn’t even resemble a hand, rather a melted lump attached to her arm. Alex had been forced to pull the bones straight when Kara’s healing had kicked in. Kara may have the ability to heal fast, but that didn’t mean she always healed correctly. The older Danvers had needed to make sure that the bones resembled the structure of a hand before the limb had regenerated as a stump. Kara had begged her to stop, had not stopped crying since Alex had arrived on the scene.

She was going to kill him.

Slowly.

Painfully.

They pulled Kara into the medical wing and Alex immediately ran over to get her suture kit. Kara was barely coherent when she lay her hand against her cheek, but Alex waited until her eyes focused enough before speaking.

“I need to give you stitches Kara. That knife wound isn’t healing, and I need to stop the bleeding, but its gonna hurt ok?” 

“Please don’t leave.” Alex’s throat tightened with emotion at the small tone her sister’s voice had taken.

Alex stroked her thumb over her sister’s, now blood free, cheek. “I’m not going anywhere Kara. Ever. I’ve got you ok?” She waited for her nod, shaky though it was, before pressing a trembling kiss to her forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Kara replied, before biting her lip and turning her head away.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

William Dreyer.

The asshole that had almost put Kara in a grave; his name was William Dreyer.

Maggie scowled up at his image as Winn explained the sacrificial markings they had found on, not just the alien at the scene, but a whole host of others who had turned up over the past few days. Apparently, William Dreyer was a bit of a serial killer. And a cultist. And a fucking psychopath. 

Maggie had heard him at the scene, had heard what he had said and didn’t say and had put together a general picture of what had gone down with Winn’s help.

Her running theory was that a Supergirl fanboy had got it in his head that he could be her sidekick or lover or both. Only, to accomplish that, he and his cult had found a fucking magical ritual thing that gave him the powers of a god. He’d had to make 6 “sacrifices of power” to attain this level of god-hood and tonight had been the second to the last in the finale. And then Kara had shown up.

The NCPD had gotten the call of “inhuman” screaming at approximately 4:45 pm. Maggie and her partner had been in the area and, since the cries had been “inhuman”, had promptly responded to the call. They’d taken in the scene and had tried to talk the guy down but had been largely ignored. Until Detective Hill had laid a hand on the man’s shoulder and been flung across the room. Maggie had quickly pulled her partner to safety and called in backup. Then her negotiations had begun, and while she was pretty certain that she wasn’t going to stop the man from killing, he had paused to talk to her. Which had bought her enough time to free the civilians that had gotten caught up in this mess. Because apparently the alien in question, the one who had been murdered today, was a crazy good accountant for a very seedy construction company.

Maggie had just talked William into letting the hostages go when Supergirl had shown up. She’d started rushing the civilians out at that point; knowing how quickly Kara could escalate a situation. She’d been right of course, and now not only had Kara bitten off way more than she could chew, she had also been indirectly responsible for multiple injuries to some of the construction crew. And- since they already had issues with law, justice, and general human decency, they were already talking about suing the city for failing to adequately protect them from the caped heroine. And now the DA was gunning for Kara’s head. 

Awesome.

Fucking. 

Day.

Winn continues to drone on as he brings up images of the scenes. They’re all pretty graphic but it’s the image from today’s clusterfuck that has her shoving shaking hands into her pockets. They feel tacky, even though she knows she’d gotten all the blood off. She focuses on her breathing as J’onn starts speaking. 

Kara is alive; this isn’t Gotham. 

Kara is alive; this is _not_ Gotham.

A sound behind her caused her to turn around, hand on her gun; a bad habit she had after high stress situations.

However, it was only Alex shouldering a pale looking Kara. The pair had been in the Medical wing for about 2 hours now, and Maggie was pretty sure that they should stayed there.

The alien looked a little (a lot) worse for wear, but her hand was un-bandaged and, although very red, showed no real damage. Her face and nose were completely healed and she was now dressed in what seemed to be DEO issued sweatpants and one of Alex’s old Stanford hoodies.

The pair staggered across the hallway before Alex was able to drop Kara in a chair next to Winn. Her hand dropping to stroke once over her sister’s hair before moving away.

“What do we have?”

Alex’s tone was all business, and while she kept her hands firmly on her hips, the redness that lingered around her eyes was a dead giveaway to her current mental state. John sighed as he started to slowly explain what they had been able to piece together.

“So, this William Dreyer has the powers of a God? What are we talking about here?” The agent crossed her hands over chest and shifted her weight, a tick her and Kara shared when they were puzzling something out. “Are we talking ancient Greek mythology Zeus, or more current real-life version of Wonder Woman?” She took a few steps closer to the screens displaying her sister’s assailant and Maggie saw her fists clench where they were tucked in her arms. “Because I’m pretty sure we have the resources to take on Wonder Woman... We might need a hell of a lot of assistance for Zeus though.”

Winn snorted and shook his head, “Highly doubt we’re looking at a Zeus figure, but he is extremely powerful. I ran some analysis on the video footage and the guy definitely can pack a punch. His physiology has been altered in such a way that he can thermodynamically alter the space around him. In other words: he can heat up or cool down his environment so that it creates a sort of barrier.” The tech genius stood, tablet in hand as he began throwing things up on the screen.

Maggie pushed off the desk and moved to stand closer to Alex, her hand coming to rest on her girlfriend’s shoulder, before dropping to rub soothing circles over her clenched fist. Alex sent her a grateful barely there smile and turned her attention back to Winn’s explanation.

“The science is very cool. In a “I would never ever participate in such a ritual but totally apply some of the elements to some armor upgrades” kind of way.” Winn finished, shuffling his feet awkwardly.

“So basically, it’s not his body that’s powerful but his “magic”. Is that right?” Maggie asked.

Winn nodded, “Yeah. So, if you think of Kara’s fist holding a force of about 300g, this guy can mold the atmosphere around him to become “colder”, meaning all of the atoms come closer together to create a barrier capable of stopping a punch at 300g. We don’t technically feel the temperature change because it happens so quickly and he’s not technically changing the temperature, so much as he is altering the atoms and molecules to respond to his will. Which is how he was able to return her punches and actually hurt her. Now if we look at it- “

“What about the knife?”

Everyone’s head turned to face Kara, who was sitting up on her own now, her face a mask of concentration. The blonde was tipped forward slightly, her right hand curled protectively around her abdomen as she waited for a response, and Winn finally turned back to his computer. He threw an image of the blade up on the bigger screen; thankfully this was a pre “soaked in Kara’s blood” kind of picture. 

The knife itself was fairly beautiful, and if Maggie hadn’t just seen it stabbed through her girlfriend’s sister, she might have asked to keep it. It was a little under 12” in length with a sturdy hilt of silver. The blade was about 4” thick, and a red garnet shaped into a triangle ended where the blade began.

“The knife was identified as belonging to Hemp Manohet. He was an extremely evil Egyptian priest. Like think of Lex Luthor and then quadruple that.” Winn’s fingers moved over his Surface as more images came up on the screen. This time, they were of a dark-skinned male decked out in gold robes from head to toe. Only the skin on his hands and face visible. His hair was covered by a magenta head scarf, and kohl painted his eyes, down his nose, and around his lips. Like all images of the ancient Egyptians, his face was set in a neutral pose; a still life. “This guy basically served 6 Pharaohs. All of whom lost their first-born child in childbirth and died of natural causes at the ripe old age of 21. As you can probably imagine, it caused a lot of turmoil during the time. Turns out the guy was sacrificing the children of the pharaohs in exchange for eternal life, and to keep the line going he would pull the soul of the Pharaoh into his queen, rape and impregnate her, allow the second born to be born and raised as Pharaoh, and start the process all over again.” Images of striking women were thrown onto the screen, and Maggie scowled at the crimes done against them. “Basically, he was killing, raping, and sacrificing his own children, over and over again. He also was responsible for the genocide of the Atlanteans. He’s the guy who sunk the island.”

Kara shook her head and made to stand. A harsh look from Alex kept her in her seat.

“So evil priest guy had an evil knife that he did evil things with. I’m not following how a man-made weapon was able to pierce my skin.”

“Because it’s not technically man made.” Alex’s brow was furrowed in worry as she listened to Hank speak. Maggie knew she was seeing the blood that Kara had been covered in just hours before. “This Hemp Manohet, broke the natural laws with that knife, the things he did seemingly “blessed” his weapon of choice.”

“Which makes it magical.” The worry bled into Alex’s own voice as she turned her gaze back to Kara. “Which means you have no defense against it.”

The room was silent for several moments before Winn abruptly started tapping away at his PC again.

“There is a silver lining,” His voice was hesitant as he threw a timer up on the monitor wall set for 42 hours. “He still needs one more sacrifice and the ritual isn’t technically complete until the full moon. Which is in 42 hours. So, we have a little less than two days to take this guy down.”

“But I shot him.” Alex’s voice suggested excitement and Maggie realized that the nerd part of her girlfriend was about to show up. “I shot him with a Ray Gun. It hurt him.” Her right hand was making a small snapping gesture as she followed her train of thought. “If this guy is manipulating particles, that’s not just magic, that’s science. And high concentrations of electro-magnetic pulses can disturb pretty much anything on a molecular and atomic level. Which means I got through his shield because of my weapon of choice. If we can take him by surprise— “

“That sounds like a solid plan Agent Danvers. Your fellow agents and I will work out the kinks, Agent Schott will track him and we will contact you when everything is ready. In the meantime, take your sister home and rest. Even aliens can get concussions.”

Maggie turned in time to see Kara’s mouth thin, but she didn’t protest. The kid must be in serious pain. The fact that Alex merely nodded, let Maggie know how bad it was, and that Kara would more than likely be crashing with them tonight.

She sighed internally. She was **_so_** not good at holding in her temper when it came to the people she cared about.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alex pulled Kara closer to her body, tucking her sister’s head under her chin as her fingers pulled soothingly through Kara’s hair. They were strewn half across the back of a DEO issued SUV that had orders to drop them at Alex’s apartment and patrol the area for Dreyer.

Kara let out a soft whimper as a tremor ran through her body; an after effect of the kryptonite currently leaving her system. Someone shifted from the front of the vehicle and Alex lifted her head to see Maggie looking at them in concern. Alex didn’t really blame her. It was rare that anyone, Alex included, got to see Kara in the state she was in. Her alien was currently stretched out on top of her, her left arm cradled protectively over her abdomen, while her right- the previously broken one, was clutching Alex’s shirt. Her eyes were shut but it was clear to everyone (Alex) that she wasn’t sleeping, that she probably wouldn’t sleep, and she definitely would not talk. Or eat 

The car pulled up to the front of the building, and the older Danvers maneuvered her sister out of the vehicle with some assistance from Maggie. That last part really upped the “Big Sister” worry in Alex. While she loved both of her girls, she knew that they didn’t exactly love each other. There was some genuine comradery, and they cared about each other for her sake, but they didn’t reach out. They didn’t connect. Which was fine (it wasn’t) since Alex hadn’t exactly been lining up to get to know Mon-el either, but she would rather flash Winn than have let the Daxamite see her vulnerable. Which is what Kara was doing. Letting Maggie see her vulnerable; letting Maggie help her.

She managed to pull Kara’s arm over her shoulder, her own arm wrapped securely around her little sister’s waist, as she guided them towards the door. 

“We’re almost there Kara, you still with me? You feeling ok?”

The blonde nodded in response, but her shoulders still drooped and her eyes still fought to remain open. Alex didn’t push.

Maggie walked ahead and opened doors, pressed buttons; lead the way. When they finally made it into the apartment, Kara visibly melted in relief, allowing Alex to drop her on the sofa. Her girlfriend moved off to the side, turning on lights to offer a dim but visible atmosphere and start the kettle. The detective liked to drink herbal tea to de-stress, Alex liked to call her a hippie. Maggie called her a jackass. Maggie’s phone rang somewhere out of Alex’s vision, but she was too focused on Kara at the moment.

Carefully, she pulled the hem of her sister’s shirt up to check that the knife wound hadn’t reopened on their journey. Luckily the bandage remained pristine and there was no new discoloration. Kara did flinch slightly when she probed around the area, but unfortunately, she had expected that. Maggie’s voice was agitated, and the tension in Kara’s body mirrored it. 

“Hey.” The agent bopped Kara’s nose, and brushed damp hair away from her face. “It’s rude to listen to other people’s conversations.”

Kara had the grace to blush. “I can’t help it. You can’t exactly turn off your hearing you know.” She mumbled, pushing her body straighter as Alex proceeded to redress the wound.

“I know.” She replied, into the stillness of the room.

It had always been a common misconception that Kara could just turn on and off her powers. She could with some of them, like the heat vision and freeze breath. But the hearing was more of her tuning certain things out, and she had to be aware enough to do it, or distracted. She was balls at it when she was tired, or stressed, or scared. Right now, she was all three.

Something slammed in the kitchen pulling Alex from her reverie. She looked up and was immediately met with Kara’s face. Something dropped in her stomach as she recognized the expression. Something had happened that was making Kara visibly shut down. She brought one hand up to Kara’s face but her sister jerked back and refused to look at her again. Alex dropped her hand to Kara’s knee, rubbing soothing circles as her eyes sought out her girlfriend across the room.

Maggie was standing in front of the island, her forearms braced against the surface as she visibly tried to control her frustration.

“Kara— “

“No.”

The muscles in Maggie’s arms jumped. “Kara” she tried again. “The mayor wants to meet with Supergirl tomorrow to discuss repercussions – “

“No.”

Maggie’s fists slammed into the counter at the same time Kara stood to face her. Alex was almost impressed that she didn’t even indicate the amount of pain that must have inflicted. Almost.

“Dammit Kara! You can’t just do what you want and then refuse to face the consequences!”

“Whoa! Let’s all just take a breath.” Alex hastily moves to stand between the pair, gently resting her hand on Maggie’s arm. “She’s hurt Mags, maybe this could wait a while?”

Maggie retracted like she’d been slapped in the face. “And what? You think that I told them this was ok? That I invited them over for dinner?” she asked incredulously. Alex went to reassure her but Maggie wouldn’t be deterred. “I care about her too Alex. I wouldn’t just feed her to the wolves. I told them I couldn’t get in touch with her. I _told_ them she had more important things to do than answer to a NCPD Detective. This wasn’t my call. They’re gonna issue an arrest warrant if she doesn’t go in. People got hurt today, some of them almost died because as usual Kara decided to act before thinking! And now we have to deal with political bureaucrats on top of it all!” 

Alex could feel Kara’s self-control slipping. Her own was a precarious thing and again she went to stop her girlfriend- her best friend, but Maggie was on a roll.

“She needs to understand that there are consequences. There are rules for a reason. For this reason. She could have died today Alex. Those officers on scene could have died. _YOU_ could have died.” The detective steps around Alex now, making sure she has Kara’s full attention before delivering the final blow. “Do you even understand what you’re capable of? What you can do? One wrong move and that’s it. If you loved Alex at all you would— “

And Kara’s control snaps.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Are you kidding me?!?” Kara screeches as she throws her hands up and finally, _finally_ breaks the blank wall she’s been for _days_.

Weeks.

Maybe months.

“Do you honestly believe that I’m that stupid?! That reckless with human life?” 

Maggie’s mouth is set in a deep frown, arms crossed defensively across her chest as she faces down the irate Kryptonian.

Because, maybe that’s all Kara really was to her. A Kryptonian. Not a friend. Not Alex’s sister. Not _human._  

Kara turns then, a violent action, made all the more dramatic by the rough hand she pulls through her hair. Her head is shaking in disbelief as she completely turns her back to them, and Alex is torn between going to her sister and finally letting the two most important people in her life hash out whatever their beef is. The decision is made for her when, after a beat of silence, Kara speaks.

“31 Sulls.” She says, voice rough. Maggie gives her a blank stare so Kara continues. “Alex weighs 31 Sulls. I’d say that translates to roughly 132 earth pounds. Which means, that on a good day, where she actually remembers to eat and drink water, she could probably withstand forces of about 67g. More if I start slower. But on a bad day, I have to account for dehydration, lower body mass, maybe dizziness, nausea, less blood flow, slower brain activity….”

Kara’s voice is steady but her eyes are wet and her hands are trembling as she wildly gesticulates to emphasize what she is trying to say. “She broke her arm when she was 16 playing soccer; some numb nuts shoved her during a dive. So, I measure the trajectory, cause if I come in too fast on that arm, I could literally shove the shattered bone through her chest cavity; or bring enough debris with me to fill her lungs and suffocate her; or weaken the entire structure of the building so that it falls in on her head. _Every_ decision I make can end in someone dying. If I don’t move fast enough, their attacker will kill them. And if I do move fast enough, then I- “She scowls as her voice finally breaks and again turns away from them, scrubbing harshly at her cheeks.

“Kara…” Maggie breathes.

“I broke her hand when she was 14 years old.” Kara states, voice void of emotion, careful to keep herself turned away, even when her clenched fists give away her distress. “The AI in my pod told me it was customary to shake hands when meeting someone new, so I tried but I-.” Another vicious head shake.

“And when she was 17 and she stopped speaking to Vicky Donahue, God Maggie, she cried so hard. And I just wanted to stop it, I just wanted to hold her together like she’d been holding me together, and I put her in the fucking hospital.”

Maggie’s arms drop to her sides and her voice is stern as she tries once again to interrupt, “Kara stop.”

“That scar on her lower back, that’s from when I shoved her into a lit burner on the stove the first time I heard the _popcorn maker_.” Kara’s voice is desperate now, as if laying out her sins is a necessity in this fucked up reality they are now living in.

Alex steps forward now past Maggie, making a grab for Kara’s shoulder’s, “Kara that’s enough,” but the hero is already on the other side of the room as she continues her tirade.

“Every second of every day, I hear people screaming Maggie! All the time! The world is on fire and everyone expects me to put out the damn flames.” Alex has leaped over the couch at this point and is now holding Kara’s forearms to no avail. The blonde is beyond agitated now and Maggie wonders if she’s even aware of her sister anymore. “Do you have any _idea_ what that’s like? To hear people crying every time you _listen_? To hear them question where Supergirl was when they needed her? How many people I _fail_ every day? And why? Because it took me too long to correctly calculate somebody’s body mass compared to how much force they can handle? Or so that you can play good cop and talk down a would-be murderer?”

“Kara stop. You need to listen to me. It’s okay!” Alex tries, voice wavering as she forces her arms around her sister, who remains tense in the embrace. “Its- “

But Kara is too far gone at this point. She doesn’t even remember the point she was trying to make. If she even ever had one. She just knows that she wanted to make Maggie see, understand, hurt. Anything. Anything but this overwhelming agony that she feels anytime she allows herself to. Because it was her fault; what happened was her fault. She knows that. Rao, she knows that! But there isn’t anything she can do about it. Her mind works faster than almost any being in this galaxy, and she was raised as a pacifist first, but with Alex…. With Alex, none of that matters. All that matters is whether or not she’ll be able to go home at the end of the day. If Kara will be able to listen to the melody of her heartbeat, or be subject to silence. Silence forever.

“NO! That was for when I was a child and I am _not_ a child anymore. I am not a child. I can save people. I have the ability to save people. And if I had to choose between a robber with a broken arm and a dead mother, I choose the broken arm. And every time- EVERY TIME- I choose Alex. Every time.”

And just like that she deflates. Her body sinks into Alex’s, as the brunette runs soothing hands over her back, her arms, through her hair. The older Danvers holds her sister close, murmuring words of comfort, as her baby sister- her baby- quietly shatters in her arms.

“You asked me if I loved her. You asked me. And I will _never_ forgive you for that.” The words are forced out on a sob before Alex finally manages to turn her in her arms.

“Kara...” the brunette’s words leave trembling lips as she tries to comfort her sister. “Kara, she didn’t mean it like that. She didn’t… I— “

And then Kara is shoving her back once again. “Stop. Stop defending her!”

Alex shakes her head, her shoulders rising hopelessly. “I’m not! I just— “

“No! You just nothing! If you don’t want me in your life than fine! –“

“—WHAT?!? Of course, I want you in my life Kara. I love you— “

“But don’t be such a fucking hypocrite.” She continued, raising her voice over her sister’s, the curses making the accusations that much worse. “What? She can talk shit about your family but I can’t?”

“That is not what is happening right now! She’s— “

“She’s what Alex?” And Alex gives up trying to talk, staring helplessly into Kara’s irate eyes. The picture of worry, and that only seems to fuel the rage pouring out of the Kryptonian. “She’s more important than me? She ‘got you to be yourself’?” Her voice is mocking now and she hears Maggie’s sharp inhale to her left but she’s too far gone. “I was there for you! I’ve always been there for you. Rao, Alex I gave my _life_ for you! And I know,” she swallowed around the lump in her throat and pushed away tears, “I know that I fucked up. I know that I’ve taken _so_ _much_ from you.” Ignores the stubborn headshake that Alex gives her. “I _know_ that, but you promised me. You _promised_ me I wouldn’t lose you. You said--”. But she can’t continue, the sobs coming fast and hard now. It gives Alex the opening she was looking for.

“You will never lose me Kara. I love you so much. I – “

“Stop lying to me!” The blonde explodes, her hands moving wildly around her face. “You’ve already said I wasn’t your sister, stop with this back and forth. Because either _you_ love me or you don’t. And I can’t--”

She cuts herself off as she feels her eyes burn, and it takes her a second to realize that it’s not from the sting of tears. It’s been years since she’s been this emotional; since she’s been this close to losing control. She has to leave. She has to get out of here.

She’s at the balcony before she really recognizes what she’s doing. Feels Alex following behind her, calling out to her, trying to get her to calm down. She can’t.

There’s a voice in her head telling her to stop. That this is dangerous. That she’s hurt. That she’s not in control. 

She’s barely in the air when her powers give out.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Maggie stands frozen where the sister’s left her seconds ago. She’d never seen Kara that upset. And the things she’d said... God, she had to have been carrying that around for weeks. She pushed clenched fists into her eyes, shoulders sagging under guilt. It had never been her intention to get between the Danvers sisters. She’d always loved their relationship.

She was pulled from her thoughts by a sharp scream from her girlfriend, her feet already taking her towards the sound even as Alex desperately called her name.

When she finally made it out to the balcony, it was to see Alex holding a barely conscious Kara from over the balcony. Most of Kara’s body was on the wrong side of the barrier, and while Alex had a good hold on one of her shoulders, her other hand clutched the incoherent woman by the fabric of her sweater. Alex turned frantic eyes towards her.

“Help me. Please, help me.”

Maggie was already moving before she got the words out. Moving to reach over and grab Kara’s other arm. Together they managed to pull her up and over the ledge, before toppling to the ground under her weight. Kara landed awkwardly, Maggie’s reflexes the only thing that stopped her head from slamming into the concrete. Her body lay on top of Alex’s, her head in the space between her shoulder and neck. Maggie carefully pushed her leg off of her own body and moved to crouch over the pair, checking for injuries.

Alex was crying again. Pushing hair away from Kara’s face from her position under the blonde. Kara mumbled something that Maggie didn’t understand, and it wasn’t until Alex frantically responded that she realized they were speaking another language.

The older Danvers pulled her sister tight to her chest, rocking her as best she could from the ground and muttering a phrase over and over again in what must have been Kryptonian.

After that it’s many maneuvers that make Maggie very glad that she works out, as she and Alex work to get Kara into the bed. Alex stays with Kara until she calms down enough to be talked into a shower. Maggie goes to the kitchen, reaching into the top cabinet where she knows Alex keeps her scotch. She pours herself a drink as she waits for her girlfriend to emerge from the alcove that houses her bed.

She is not looking forward to the conversation that is about to take place, but she knows it needs to happen. Kara had almost gotten herself killed twice in one day because of a lack of communication. Maggie wasn’t going to let that mistake continue with the events still so fresh. They need a plan going forward; they need clarity.

When Alex finally does emerge from the bedroom, her eyes are bloodshot and her hands are shaking. Maggie easily slides her a tumbler of alcohol and steers her towards a stool. They sit there for a while, sipping the burning liquor as they try to figure out where to begin.

“What did she say?” It’s a bad place to start but the words are out of her mouth before she realizes, but she finds she needs to know. “On the balcony, that was Kryptonian right?”

Alex nods tiredly, her elbows coming to rest on her island as her whole-body slumps forward; her head propped up in her hands, palms digging into her eyes. “She told me she would try harder.”

Something shrivels in Maggie’s chest and she reaches out a hand to touch her girlfriends shoulder. The second she makes contact however, Alex is out of her chair and angrily pacing in front of her. Her irritation is obvious and Maggie decides its best to wait her out. Before she’d gotten to know Alex, like really know Alex, she would have pressed. But now she knew that that would only lead to the brunette clamming up or attacking. Alex hated to feel boxed in or cornered.

Besides Maggie was the one who’d hurt her little sister. She had no idea what to say anyway.

It didn’t take long for Alex to crack. Her fist lashed out slamming into the pillar dividing her kitchen and living room.

“Fuck! I’m such a fucking idiot! How the hell did I let this happen? How did I not see this?” Her words are whispered knives, lined with self-hate and anger, and Maggie sits and waits.

 But nothing more is forthcoming from the older Danvers.

Instead she cradles her head in her hands and allows her shoulders to shake as soft sobs start to radiate through her body as Maggie watches.

“You’re not an idiot Danvers.” She tries to keep her voice steady and soothing as she takes a sip of the burning liquid in her glass. “Yeah, you fucked up. I did too. And yeah, we should have talked to her about it after, made sure that we were okay, but Kara holds some responsibility here too. We all let it get this bad.”

Maggie raises her head to see how here words were being received and sees Alex with a pinched look on her face; her mouth thin and eyes squinting as if trying to decide if she should punch Maggie now or later.

“We got in an argument. Kara and me.” The detective supplies unnecessarily. “When you were taken. She kept running off at every whisper and hint of you, even when I asked her not to. And then one of those times, it made water start filling that damned tank. And then you were asking to talk to me alone, and I thought it would be the last time I spoke to you, the last time I saw you alive. Through a fucking camera.” Here she stands, pressing her shaking palms against her thighs as the memories threaten to overwhelm her. “I questioned her stake in it; questioned what right she had had to take away our future. And God Alex, I was so mad; you weren’t there, Kara was seriously unhinged and I needed her to be smart but… I didn’t mean to sound like I was trying to be better than her, that I meant more to you, or that my opinion should be counted more I just…” She pauses and then shakes her head helplessly, raising her eyes to meet Alex’s across the room. “I wanted us to be equals. I wanted her to see that you were _mine_ too; that I _mattered_ , that I had a voice. But maybe that came out wrong. A lot of the things I say come out wrong. The things I said tonight _came out wrong_.”

Maggie takes a few steps towards Alex, reaching out hesitantly before gently pulling her girlfriend into her arms when she was not rebuffed. 

“Alex, I should have explained more when you brought it up the first time, but I’m not great at expressing myself.” Maggie feels Alex’s grip on her tighten before the taller woman is pressing her face into Maggie’s neck as if bracing for impact. “I love Kara. I’ve loved her almost as long as I loved you, though not in the same way obviously.” Feels the gentle huff of laughter expel from her love’s lips. “Seriously I worry about her constantly because her disguise sucks. Like seriously sucks. You guys should have considered a wig, or a mask, or color contacts, maybe a hood. But whatever. The point is I worry about her. I’m scared that she’s going to out herself, or that Cadmus will get her, or she’ll find kryptonite in her pen and trip and fall and die.” She shudders and is grateful when Alex smooths her hands down her back in a soothing motion, because as ridiculous as it might sound, that had been a legitimate fear. “I don’t know if you know this about me but when I get scared I kinda react badly.”

Alex laughs at that and gently pushes her away so that they are still in each other’s arms, but now face to face.

“No kidding.” Alex grins at her fondly before pushing a lock of hair out of Maggie’s face.

“I’m sorry Alex. I’ll apologize to Kara too. And I’ll tell her everything I just told you. I never wanted to come between you two. I love how you are with each other. How much you love each other, I _wish_ I had family that loved me so unconditionally.”

Her girlfriend sighs, and pushes herself closer so that her forehead rests on the side of Maggie’s face, just above her cheek.

“You’re not the only one who needs to apologize. After that whole mess with my dad, I told her… um…” Maggie watches from the corner of her eye how Alex clenches her eyes shut, pulling a trembling bottom lip between her teeth before continuing. “I pretty much told her she wasn’t a part of my family- because she didn’t side with Dad. She was right in the end, obviously, but I never said I was sorry. I never told her that I didn’t mean it.” Her voice is starting to wobble and she fights back tears and Maggie runs a soothing hand through her dark red tresses, rocking her gently, trying to offer comfort. “Because I didn’t. God Maggie. I love her. She’s my whole heart. I love her so much.”

“I know you do baby.” 

She pulls Alex closer, her arms securing themselves around her as she continues to gently rock them. Long moments pass, as she lets Alex work through her emotions, until finally she has to admit to exhaustion. She curls her fingers along Alex’s biceps, gently disentangling them. Alex lets out a shaky breath, her face is splotchy and her eyes are bloodshot and she’s pretty sure that that is snot on her face, but Maggie doesn’t mind.

“Your sister is crazy smart by the way.” The detective states, referring to the math Kara had alluded to using in her rescues and that had gone way over Maggie’s head.

Alex lets out a watery chuckle and nods.

“We both need to talk to Kara. She needs to hear this from us.” She curls her sleeve over her hand and gently dabs at the mess on Alex’s face.

Alex laughs, shaking her head and bringing an arm up to wipe under her nose.

“She already knows, but you’re right we should still reinforce everything.” At Maggie’s perplexed look she continues. “Super hearing. She’s been out of the shower since my first rant. That’s why I stopped. She’s been listening the whole time.”

Maggie’s jaw drops open but Alex is already pulling her towards the bathroom where she can indeed no longer hear the shower running. Her girlfriend drops her hand when she reaches the door and knocks tentatively against the worn wood.

“Kara?” she asks, “it’s me. And Maggie. Can we come in now?”

A soft affirmation is given and then Alex is pushing the door open and peeking inside. Kara is sitting against the wall under the towel rack. Her legs are pulled up to her chest, banded together in the embrace of her arms. She looks smaller with shoulders hunched, head resting on her arms and gaze stubbornly turned away. She’s clothed in Alex’s sweatpants and a black cotton V-neck, her hair still damp but no longer wet. Maggie also notices that the girl is still a little pale and can see she’s trembling even from this distance.

“Sorry.” Kara mumbles, hands twisting in front of her and shoulders hunching further as if bracing for an attack. “For earlier.”

Maggie is not a physical person. She doesn’t really do hugs or comfort or any of the other mushy family things. But she really really wants to hug Kara right now. 

She holds herself back even as Alex gently lowers herself to the floor next to her sister. She reaches out a sure hand and rubs it across Kara’s shoulders. The girl shudders but doesn’t move away.

“It’s okay. I’m sorry too. I’ve been a bit of a bitch.”

Kara huffs, half amused, half disbelieving and finally turns to face them. Maggie watches Alex take her in, watches her hands as one continues to rub soothing circles over Kara’s back and the other gently maneuvers hair out of her face.

“I shouldn’t have said that stuff… with dad… I love you so much Kara. You’re my sister. And--” there’s a pause as Alex’s throat works for a second and she reaches up to brush away stubborn tears before she can continue. “And I am so sorry if I ever made you feel like less than that.” The elder Danvers has managed to maintain eye contact throughout the brief exchange and she continues to do so even as Kara’s lips remain sealed. Both women are noticeably crying now, but neither have made any attempts to move away.

The only sounds in the room for the next few moments are quiet sniffling and the sounds of Alex pressing soft kisses into Kara’s hair. Finally, Maggie pushes herself away from the doorway and plops down in front of the Danvers girls. It’s been a very long day and she is beyond exhausted. 

Gently, she nudges Kara’s bare foot with her socked one until the girl peeks over at her from the shelter of her own arms.

“I would never try to get between you and Alex, Kara. What the two of you have… that’s not something I’m even remotely interested in taking away.”

“Good cause she’s mine.” Maggie has to fight back a smile at the slight glare of protectiveness that accompanies the words. Luckily, she is successful. Alex is not. A short huff of laughter escapes her as she presses smiling lips to the side of her little sister’s forehead.

“Always.” Is the older Danvers’ reply and Maggie isn’t the least bit offended.

Instead she offers her most disarming smile and offers her hand out to Kara.

“How about we just both agree that we both love her. I’ll respect your older and more valid claim, and you respect that I’m here now too; that I’m in this… for both of you.” Kara eyes the hand suspiciously for a second before hesitantly reaching back to return the grasp. “We still have to learn how to work together. I was stupid or naïve to ignore that most partnerships take time. You’ve never had to work crime from my side and I’ve never had to work it from yours, but I think we can figure it out. I want us to figure it out. I don’t want work to get in the way of us being friends.” A small smile starts to form on Kara’s lips and Maggie presses her hand a little more firmly. “I wasn’t looking for this Kara. I didn’t want this… But now that I have it… it’s all that I want. I love her and I’m staying.”

Maggie keeps her eyes on Kara, ignoring the heavy heat of Alex’s gaze burning into her. Kara’s eyes are clear and calculating, as if this is the first time she’s really seeing Maggie.

The blonde’s chin dipped slightly after several moments and then Maggie found herself being hauled up and over into a very unorganized group hug. And if she squealed, well so did Alex.

After the initial shock, and required halfhearted protests, Maggie allowed herself to sink into the embrace; sandwiched between the sisters in the smaller than she thought bathroom. And she let herself feel it. Her new family; her found family. She wasn’t going to mess this up.

Maggie?” As if on cue Kara’s voice entered her ears and she hummed a soft acknowledgement. “Just so we’re clear… If you hurt her, I _will_ punt you into the sun.” And before Maggie could promise to never do such a thing, she felt her ribs creak under the strain of a very enthusiastic squeeze. 

“Kara!”

The blonde shot a tired smile over at her sister before letting Maggie go. That was definitely going to bruise.

“What?” here Kara turned to make eye contact with Maggie, her expression the perfect balance of humor and seriousness. “A vague disclaimer is nobodies friend.”

The sigh that escapes Alex’s mouth is exasperated but she pulls her sister in tighter, soaking in the moment after months of miscommunication.

“Maggie?” Kara’s voice is small, but it still makes the detective pull herself away enough from the group to make eye contact with the blonde. “You were right… earlier… what you said about me not thinking about the consequences.”

Maggie furrows her brow, already shaking her head in protest, “Kara no--”

The superhero’s chin is trembling and her eyes are like glass as she continues over the interruption. “No, it is. I shouldn’t have set off that bomb. We should have found another way.” She turns to her sister, face the picture of apology. “I’m so sorry Alex. I should have gotten off the ship when you asked. I shouldn’t have tried to be a hero.”

“Kara no,” Alex’s voice is ‘Kara-soft’, a tone only reserved for her sister in moments where she is hurt or afraid. “If you hadn’t stayed on that ship, I would have fired the canon and killed Kal. Rhea forced your hand Kara. You had no other choice.” 

Kara’s eyes laser in on Maggie, and the detective fights the urge to flinch. “I want you to teach me how to think, how to use my head more. I need to be better able to come up with a plan in case this ever happens again. I can’t let this happen again.”

“Your sister’s right Kara…” Maggie’s eye’s flit briefly over to her girlfriends before returning to the blonde. “Rhea forced your hand. Even I wouldn’t have known what to do in that situation. You did use your head, you thought it out and--”

“No, I didn’t.” Kara’s voice is agitated and Maggie finds herself rubbing soothing circles into the back of the hand she somehow still has grasped in hers.

She tries to keep her voice soothing as she asks, “What do you mean?”

Blue eyes look away in frustration before slowly moving over to Alex who gives her a small supportive smile. A soft sigh escapes the youngest among them before she focuses her eyes on her hands.

“I wasn’t thinking about options,” she continues. “I wasn’t using my head. Maybe at first I was. I had all these plans and scenarios and things that were supposed to happen that never did but… When Rhea said she was going to destroy earth no matter what I did. I stopped. I just thought…” the blonde inhales sharply and clenches her unclaimed hand into a fist before looking up at her sister. “I didn’t want you to die. All I could think about was that you had finally found someone to love, who loved you back, and how much I love you, and I didn’t want… I couldn’t let her take that away from you. And I couldn’t let her take you away from _me_.”

Alex stares at her sister in light of this new revelation and there are several moments of tense silence in which Maggie wants to interject but stops herself from interrupting the silent communication. She very badly wants to though if only to reassure Kara who looks like she is awaiting her punishment on Judgement Day.

“Your space logic is sound,” are the words that finally come out of Alex’s mouth. “It agrees very well with our obviously superior earth logic but forgiveness can be granted for obsession, I am after all a formidable specimen.” Kara’s jaw drops even as Maggie tries to keep her snort of laughter contained. “Also, I’d like to have it on record that _you_ Kara Zor-El are not alone in the love department and that I would raze the earth if it meant keeping you safe.”

“You don’t mean that Alex. You can’t.” Kara’s eyes are haunted and Maggie knows she is remembering Krypton, and suddenly the shame and guilt that she’d seen on Kara’s face earlier gets another layer.

“Except that I do.” Is Alex’s response and Maggie has never seen her so serious… or soft.

Kara’s next breath is a shuddery inhale.

“You’re not a bad person because you prioritize your loved ones Kara. Especially not when given the options you had. We can work on hostage tactics, and using your head more than your fists but, in this particular situation, you were right. Maybe if we had more time, we could have sent the Daxamites back to where they came from, but we didn’t. And if we had more manpower, more superheroes, maybe we could have fought them off, but we didn’t. We had 24 hours, a brainwashed Superman, like 7 DEO agents, an acting DEO director with PTSD who was still on desk duty, an overly caffeinated technical genius, an extremely attractive NCPD detective, Cat Grant, Lillian friggin Luthor and _you_. And you are the one who made all the difference. Any other way, any equation without you there and we’d all be dead. I know you wish that you didn’t have to make that decision, we all wish that you didn’t have to make that decision but I woke up to the most beautiful woman on the planet this morning, and that is thanks to you. Thank you, Kara, not for killing the Daxamites, but for finding a way where I get another day with Alex.” She gives the younger girls hand a quick squeeze. “We’ll do better next time.”

She has an arm full of Kryptonian before she can blink, and immediately gives Alex a panicked look. Alex smiles and lets out an exasperated sigh, before standing and reaching her hands out to the two women on the floor.

“C’mon. I’m tired and I have a really huge bed calling out to us.”

Kara’s answering smile was blinding and she took the proffered hand as she rose to her feet and into Alex’s arms, hands clenching into fists in the fabric of her shirt. 

“I love you too you know. I didn’t say it earlier. I should’ve said it back.”

Maggie watched from the floor as Alex secured her arms tighter around Kara. She wondered briefly how she had gotten so lucky. Wondered longer about what the next steps for all of them would be. Because it wasn’t going to be smooth sailing. They had all said things that they hadn’t meant; hurtful things that they would have to talk about. There was still a big bad out there that was hell bent on destroying Kara, and ya know, possibly the world… But for now, she just wanted to be present in this moment. 

“I know.” Alex replied.

Maggie groans, wonders how she fell in love with this woman because, “Star Wars Alex? Really?!”

She counts Kara’s answering laugh as an achievement unlocked.

**Author's Note:**

> I like Maggie. Like a lot, but she was a douche in 2x19 and I felt like the writers totally flubbed Kara's character. She doesn't just use her fists, she hasn't since season 1 when she talked down that would be robber, or parasite, or when she let Livewire go, or a whole host of other situations where she tried to use her words. Total set back on their part. Anyway this was me trying to fix some of that damage. Kind of snowballed out of control and though there is room for more plot, I kind of just wanted to get Maggie and Kara to get their sht together and Alex to keep her word. So yeah... This is gonna stay a one-shot.
> 
> Also, this is my first time posting on AOO and the posting is different on other sites, anyone know how to put a line in between scenes rather than those hideous dashes I have?


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